Service employee adaptiveness : exploring the impact of role-stress and managerial control approaches

The research aims to explore the relationships between managerial control strategies, role stress and employee adaptiveness among call center employees. Based on a conceptual model, a questionnaire based survey methodology is adopted. Data was collected from call center employees in India and the data was analysed through PLS methodology. The study finds that Outcome control and activity control increase role stress while capability control does not have a significant impact. The interaction between outcome control and activity control also tends to impact role stress of employees. Role stress felt by employees have significant negative impact on employee adaptiveness The sampling approach was convenience based affecting the generalizability of the results. The papers provides guidelines for utilising managerial control approaches in a service setting. The paper looks at managerial control approaches in a service setting – a topic not quite researched before

Service failure and problems : internal marketing solutions for facing the future

The issues of elderly consumers remain under researched despite a rapidly aging population in most countries across the globe. We examine the service failure and complexity of problems of a nursing home for seniors and seek to contribute to the field of research in terms of exploring internal marketing solutions based on two theoretical frameworks- Service Profit Chain and the Relational Third Place theory. We aim to provide insights about why elderly people are not treated as consumers. Besides, based on comprehensive review of literature and analysis of an important case situation, we develop a new framework called Complex Organizational Problems and Solutions (COPS) by generalizing the insights we gained through the study. We find that internal marketing practices help improve employee satisfaction and service quality, which in turn leads to satisfied consumers

A multipath model of salesperson performance in the financial services industry

Purpose The study looks at how salesperson’s customer orientation (SCO) mediates the impact of a host of organisational, job-related and personality-related factors on salesperson performance. Previous studies that have considered the impact of customer orientation on performance have often considered a limited number of antecedent variables which has led to inconsistent results. The purpose of this paper is to address this concern by considering the multiple effects of several independent variables. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual model was tested through a large-scale survey of financial services salespersons in India. A total of 1,106 respondents participated in the survey. The data were analysed through structural equations modelling. Sobel’s test was employed to test the mediating effects. Findings The study found that customer orientation has a significant mediating effect in the case of several antecedent variables. The impact of variables like perceived supportive work environment, experienced meaningfulness, organisational identification, salesperson agreeableness and salesperson instability on salesperson performance is seen to be partially or fully mediated by SCO. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design and the convenience sampling methodology are the main limitations of the study. Practical implications The study develops a more holistic, multipath model which can help managers as a guideline in recruiting and selecting salespersons. The importance of customer orientation points towards the need for better attitudinal training. Originality/value Theoretically, the paper highlights the need for developing more comprehensive models for considering the consequences of customer orientation and related issues. The multipath model addresses several calls for research on testing different antecedents of customer orientation as well as how customer orientation enhances salesperson performance

Perceptions of justice and organisational commitment in international mergers and acquisitions

Purpose: Although there is substantial and accumulating evidence on the link between market entry modes and performance, evidence regarding their impact on employee perceptions and thereby their commitment is scarce. This is more so in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) where employee commitment has a significant impact on post entry performance. This study examines the association between perceptions of justice and organizational commitment in cross-border M&As. Design/methodology/approach: We draw on market entry and M&As literatures and studies on the link between perception of justices and commitment to develop our hypotheses. We test the hypotheses with survey data from a merger of two culturally different partners – British and Japanese. A total of 128 responses were received, out of a sample of 151 nonmanagerial employees within the firm. Findings: Our results show that a strong association between employees perceptions of justice during the merger and commitment to the new organisation. Surprisingly, the results do not support the widely reported interaction effects between different organizational justices and employees’ commitment. Research limitations/implications: Obtaining data from a single M&A is a potential limitation of this study. Practical implications: The study underscores the importance of post market entry. Our results suggest that particular attention needs to be paid to the way employees of the acquired firm are treated during their interactions with their counterparts. Originality/value: The link between market entry and performance is well documented. However, little progress has been made in understanding the antecedents/factors that influence commitment in foreign market entry and in particular cross-border M&As. This study helps close this gap

Brand management practices in emerging country firms – exploring the patterns of variation and its impact on firm performance

Firms in emerging countries often face different sets of challenges in developing their brand management strategies. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities view, the present study examines brand management practices among firms in an emerging country. Drawing on a survey of 224 firms in Turkey, the study first aims to segment firms in terms of their adoption level of brand management practices and then relate them to their overall firm and brand performances. A three-cluster solution emerging from a K-means cluster analysis reveals that firms show significant differences with respect to both performance dimensions. The findings of the study also provide evidence to the view that brand management practices add to the dynamic capabilities of emerging country firms. Finally, the study concludes with practical implications and avenues for future research

Electronic structure of CaFe2As2

We investigate the electronic structure of CaFe$_2$As$_2$ using high resolution photoemission spectroscopy. Experimental results exhibit three energy bands crossing the Fermi level making hole pockets around the $\Gamma$-point. Temperature variation reveal a gradual shift of an energy band away from the Fermi level with the decrease in temperature in addition to the spin density wave (SDW) transition induced Fermi surface reconstruction of the second energy band across SDW transition temperature. The hole pocket in the former case eventually disappears at lower temperatures while the hole Fermi surface of the third energy band possessing finite $p$ orbital character survives till the lowest temperature studied. These results reveal signature of a complex charge redistribution among various energy bands as a function of temperature that might be associated to the exotic properties of this system.Comment: 6 figure

Phenological Traits of Mangrove Kandelia Obovata Grown in Manko Wetland, Okinawa Island, Japan

Phenological traits of Kandelia obovata (S., L.) Yong was investigated on the basis of seasonal leaf recruit, leaf death and leaf growth. The seasonal leaf growth was estimated using the logistic growth curve. Leaf recruitment, leaf death and reproductive cycle were obtained by survey data. This study results showed that new leaf recruitment occurred during the year indicating high productivity of mangrove Kandelia obovata forest. The highest leaf recruit was in July, while it was the lowest in January. However, the highest leaf death was in August, whereas it was the lowest in January. Growth pattern of leaves varied among seasons as of winter leaves are taken longger time to get their maximum size, while other season leaves are taken short time to get their maximum size. Period from flowering to mature propagules of K. obovata trees is considered to be around 12 months, while most the propagules become mature in the next spring season (April and May), which indicated shorter reproduction cycle

Repeatable and adjustable on-demand sciatic nerve block with phototriggerable liposomes

Pain management would be greatly enhanced by a formulation that would provide local anesthesia at the time desired by patients and with the desired intensity and duration. To this end, we have developed near-infrared (NIR) light-triggered liposomes to provide on-demand adjustable local anesthesia. The liposomes contained tetrodotoxin (TTX), which has ultrapotent local anesthetic properties. They were made photo-labile by encapsulation of a NIR-triggerable photosensitizer; irradiation at 730 nm led to peroxidation of liposomal lipids, allowing drug release. In vitro, 5.6% of TTX was released upon NIR irradiation, which could be repeated a second time. The formulations were not cytotoxic in cell culture. In vivo, injection of liposomes containing TTX and the photosensitizer caused an initial nerve block lasting 13.5 ± 3.1 h. Additional periods of nerve block could be induced by irradiation at 730 nm. The timing, intensity, and duration of nerve blockade could be controlled by adjusting the timing, irradiance, and duration of irradiation. Tissue reaction to this formulation and the associated irradiation was benign.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (GM073626